Consulting social sector organizations in North America and the UK since 1996

People

John Baker (CEO and Partner)John has an extensive breadth of Executive and Chief Executive experience in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors and has a broad background in strategic and business planning. Prior to his work with Aperio, he was the Founding President of Proventus Inc., a for-profit spin off of a not-for-profit association, and prior to that the President and CEO of the Ontario Service Safety Alliance.

John is also a retired Naval Officer having elected early retirement after 21 years of service in the Canadian Navy. He has a BA in International Studies from the Royal Military College of Canada, has attended the Banff School of Management and The Aresty Institute of Executive Education - Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He is also a member of the faculty of the Schulich School of Business York University.

John is based in the UK
and has over 15 years as a chief executive of charities and social enterprises;
his specialty was going into struggling organizations to turn them into
innovative, financially sustainable, growth-oriented, influential organizations.
He has spent the past sixteen years as a social entrepreneurship consultant
(including founder of Aperio in North America and the United Kingdom), Board
Chair/Member of a number of third sector/non-profit organizations,
speaker/educator, facilitator, and mentor. He has published articles and
research papers in the area of social enterprise, governance, social investment
funds, privatisation and the third sector, trade and professional associations'
financial sustainability, venture philanthropy, and collaboration in
the nonprofit sector. He is also the author of a book providing guidance on
social enterprise.

John also manages Aperio Group in the UK. Aperio
Group (Europe) Limited has worked with over 300 charities, social enterprises
and trade/professional associations of all sizes and in rural and urban
settings in the UK and internationally. Recent projects have included
involvement with local government in partnership with third sector
organizations; community based organizations; boards, senior management teams
and key organisational stakeholders in a variety of settings including international
organisations, regional and national infrastructure support organisations,
national organisations, national and local service community based service
delivery organisations, associations, the health and educational sectors, arts
and cultural organisations, organisations working with young people, and the
advocacy and influencing and campaigning sector.

With an extensive background in non-profit management,
Alex has significant experience both at the executive level and as a
consultant. In her current role at Aperio, Alex has worked with a diverse group
of clients to help organizations creatively address critical challenges,
including support in the areas of strategic planning, organization and governance
review, social enterprise and earned income, partnership strategy, program
design, and evaluation. Prior to joining Aperio, Alex worked with MEDA, an
international development organization focused on business solutions towards
poverty. With a focus on Africa and Asia, she conceived, developed, and
implemented a number of initiatives that strengthened small businesses. As a seasoned trainer, Alex has
provided advisory and capacity building services to a diverse set of clients.
Alex previously worked in tradepromotion
in Malaysia in both the private and public sectors, including three years as
Executive Director of the Malaysia Canada Business Council. She has a BA from
Huron College, University of Western Ontario and a Masters in International
Affairs from Columbia University in New York City.